Humans at the House Of Night
by Beth Redbird
Summary: Beth, Lizzie Saffron are all normal humans; then they meet Zoey learn about Neferet the destruction she caused. What impact will it have on the world with humans knowing the REAL reason behind the weather. *SET AFTER BURNED. CONTAINS SPOILERS!*
1. Chapter One

***Chapter One***

"Yeah, I get that stuff about Twilight and all; I'm just saying that maybe you guys should give Spongebob a chance," Saffron argued for what seemed the millionth time. Beth sighed heavily.

"Edward Cullen and Jacob Black are _hot_, though! Spongebob's just... well, a sponge," she retaliated. Lizzie joined in by cheering and saying the occasional 'yeah!'.

"Look, you shouldn't need a fit guy to make something good. That's really shallow. Spongebob Squarepants is..."

But Beth wasn't listening to Saffron anymore. She stopped walking and grabbed Lizzie's arm, pulling her back. Saffron didn't notice at first; only when Lizzie started yelling.

"Hey! Beth, what the hell? You're scratching me. _Get off_!" Lizzie protested, trying to get Beth to loosen her grip. Her light brown hair whipped at Beth's face, but the 14-year-old didn't care. She was staring ahead, completely frozen.

About ten feet ahead of the trio was a group of vampyres and a human – no, wait... there were three full vampyres, three vampyre _fledglings _and the one human girl.

Two of the full vampyres had unusual Marks, however. Instead of the standard sapphire blue tattoos, framing their faces, those vampyres had blood red ones. Beth was amazed – she had never seen this sort of vampyre before. She had never seen _any _sort of vampyre in real life before, but she had seen them on TV, and these red tattoos weren't the norm.

"Look," Beth whispered in amazement to Lizzie, who followed her gaze. As Lizzie's sky-blue eyes rested on the group, she gasped aloud. Saffron also saw the seven people ahead of them – who were walking slowly in their direction, picking their way through the patches of lethal ice and fallen tree trunks.

"Oh, my God! Vampyres!" Lizzie squealed breathlessly, joining Beth in little bouts of giggles and a lot of excitement. Saffron did not share their ecstatic feeling, though; she had met vampyres before.

"Okay, so what the fuck are humans doing out in this weather?" the human girl demanded, coming to a stop and putting her hands on her hips.

Already disliking this so-obviously stuck-up blonde girl, Saffron raised her eyebrows, looking the girl up and down with her soft brown eyes.

"You're human," Saffron pointed out, causing the blonde to roll her eyes and snort in disgust.

"Yeah, smart-ass, but I'm with a bunch of vamps," she sneered, her cold blue eyes scanning Saffron and her friends.

"And one of those vamps seriously wants to knock your bobble hag from hell head off, Aphrodite," another blonde – this one noticeably more friendly – stated.

"Ditto, Twin," a third person joined in. This one wasn't blonde, though; she had skin the colour of cappuccino and thick, dark, glossy hair that waved gently down to her curvy waist.

This was why Beth, Lizzie and Saffron all frowned at the use of the term 'Twin' – the friendly blonde was extremely wait, and so the pair were so obviously not related.

"Whatever, Dorkamese Twins," the stuck-up blonde – Aphrodite, apparently – commented. The black girl was just about to retaliate when one of the two boys present stepped in front of her.

"Shaunee, honey, calm down. We all know Aphrodite is a bitch – leave her to it," the guy told the black girl in a calm voice. While he was speaking, Beth took not of his appearance.

This boy was cute in a sort of gay – but not completely over-the-top – way. He had dark brown hair that was perfectly cut and incredibly smooth-looking, zit-free skin. On his forehead was a sapphire blue crescent that stood out against his pale features. This guy was only a fledgling, as were the two 'Twins'.

Beth's gaze shifted to the other boy in the group, who definitely did not look gay. Lizzie was already staring – well, more like gawking – at this boy, but more at his tattoos than actually at him. This second boy did not have sapphire blue Marks; his were red, and those of a full vampyre. The scarlet tattooing that framed his eyes reminded Beth of arrows – the kind you use in archery.

Tearing her gaze away from the boy's unusual Marks, Beth studied his face. He wore a cute-but-cocky smile that gave him a sarcastic look, a straight nose, a strong chin and the most enchanting big brown eyes. Before she could stop herself, Beth found her gaze lingering on the boy's lips, which were nice. _Really _nice.

Beth looked away from his lips and took note of his hair colour. It was a sandy colour; the kind that could never decide whether it wanted to be blonde or brown. Beth was pleased to see that this boy was about her height and although he had a slim exterior, she could see muscles under his tight shirt.

He was her kinda guy!

It wasn't until Lizzie elbowed her in the ribs that Beth realized she was staring. Not only that, but she was being spoken to.

"Oh, um... sorry. I've – I've never met vampyres – or fledglings – before. It's a bit..." she trailed off, trying to find the right word to describe it.

"Distracting?" the black girl offered.

"Exciting?" her blonde 'Twin' suggested.

Beth smiled weakly, slightly embarrassed.

"Both, I guess," she replied.

"See, Twin – told you we have a sort of sixth sense," the black girl stated matter-of-factly, nudging the blonde.

"I never disagreed with you, Twin," her white friend responded with a huge grin.

Seeing the frowns on Beth, Lizzie and Saffron's faces, the male blue fledgling stepped forward with a polite and friendly smile.

"You'll have to excuse Shaunee and Erin. They have this weird mental connection that makes them twin-like. As you can see, they obviously aren't related, what with Shaunee being a lovely caramel colour and Erin being extremely white, but you soon start believing they truly _are _related," he explained with a small chuckle. "I'm Damien, by the way."

"Thank you for appreciating my blackness," the black girl, Shaunee, said to Damien. He shrugged.

"No problem, honey," he replied, his friendly grin still in place. Beth nodded internally. Yep, definitely gay (she wasn't homophobic or anything, though – her mom was gay).

"Oh my Goddess! You two have_ amazing _shoes! Let me see," Erin shrieked, glancing down at Beth and Lizzie's feet. They were both wearing flat leather boots (it was too icy for heels), but Beth's were rounded at the toe and had buckled across the ankle, and Lizzie's had a pointed toe and no buckles. Erin and Shaunee were wearing similar shoes.

While Beth and Lizzie squealed about shoes with the Twins, Saffron started to speak to the female vampyre with the red tattoos, who she saw was wearing cowboy boots, just like she was.

After learning that the girl was called Stevie Rae, had a major Oklahoma accent, love Kenny Chesney and had a soft spot for Spongebob Squarepants, Saffron decided to get down to what she was really interested in – Stevie Rae's unique Marks.

"So, um... I don't mean to be rude, but... why do you have different colour Marks than regular vampyres? I've only ever seen blue vampyres and fledglings up close before – I've never even seen red ones on TV..." Saffron babbled. Stevie Rae frowned.

"You've met actual vamps before us?" she asked, avoiding the question. Confusion was written all over her face. Saffron understood this – vamps and fledglings spent most of their time at the House of Night or being famous. It was unusual for a human to have met a vamp in person whilst knowing fully what they were – usually their Marks were covered with some sort of special powder.

"Yeah. Well, the ones at the House of Night here in Tulsa, anyway. My sister was Marked, but her body rejected the Change," Saffron looked momentarily distant before getting back to the matter in hand. "Your High Priestess met us at parent visitation and after Elizabeth... died. I got an uneasy feeling about her, though..."

"You met _Neferet?_" Stevie Rae jolted as she said the name. Frowning, Saffron nodded. "Oh, Goddess. Zoey!" The Okie girl's former perkiness gone, Stevie Rae called over the other female vampyre – this one with the standard blue Markings (although she had more of them than was normal) – with panic in her voice.

"Yes, Stevie Rae?" the summoned girl inquired. Saffron guessed this was Zoey. Stevie Rae bit her lip.

"Saffron's met Neferet."

Everyone fell silent, even the Twins, Beth and Lizzie.

"Holy shit," Erin stated.

"She's actually met that bitch?" Shaunee added.

"Ah, hell," Zoey muttered.


	2. Chapter Two

*******Chapter Two***** - Not Yet Finished**

"When did you meet Neferet?" Zoey asked Saffron, her voice calm and friendly, but also urgent. It wasn't hard for Saffron to trust this girl (who apparently wasn't a vampyre – just a gifted fledgling Marked by Nyx more than was the usual).

"My sister Elizabeth was Marked a while back, so I met your High Priestess at parent visitation nights and then when Elizabeth, um, died, we saw her again. Why? What's up with this Neferet?" Saffron was no genius, but she could tell something was wrong. So could her two best friends.

As Zoey thought of what to say to the three humans, Stevie Rae spoke up.

"Well, you wanted to know about my weird Marks, right?" she asked. Saffron nodded straight away. "My body rejected the Change, just like your sister's did. But then Neferet used Darkness and turned me into a majorly stereotypical vampyre, like Dracula or somethin', and I was literally the walking dead. Turns out Neferet was doing it to all the fledglings that died. Zoey persuaded me to stick with Nyx and Light, though, so here I am, helping these guys–"

"Did Neferet do whatever she did to you to Elizabeth?" Saffron interrupted, unable to keep the hope out of her voice.

"Wait, Elizabeth? As in Elizabeth No Last Name?" Zoey asked suddenly. Saffron nodded slowly.

"She dropped our surname – she hated the name Titsworth, and I don't blame her. Well? Is she like you?" Saffron demanded from Stevie Rae, who glanced at Zoey for confirmation that she was allowed to answer. The Okie girl wasn't sure what she was allowed to tell these humans from then on, as it was kinda important stuff.

After getting a quiet 'okay' from Zoey, Stevie Rae smiled and nodded once at Saffron.

"Really? Oh my gosh, can I see her? Where is she now?" Saffron gushed, practically jumping for joy. Zoey looked startled at this one and bit her lip. Seeing this, Saffron chilled a bit. "Please, Zoey. I promise I won't do anything you tell me not to – neither will Beth and Lizzie," she promised. Erin and Shaunee allowed themselves mischievous grins.

"Of course they won't," Erin said.

"Just like we don't," Shaunee added, grinning at Beth and Lizzie, who smiled back.

"It's... it's not that I don't want you to, it's just... it's not actually my decision. The adult vamps back at the House of Night should decide," Zoey declared. The boy at her side – the one Beth liked – leant down and whispered something into her ear. She looked up at him, doubt in her eyes. "I can't, Stark," she whispered back.

"You can. You're our High Priestess, Z. You can make this decision," the boy, Stark, told her kindly. Saffron could see that he had some special connection with Zoey, but she couldn't quite understand it.

After sharing a long look with Stark, Zoey looked back at Saffron and Lizzie, all of whom looked eager.

Beth, however, was looking lustfully at Stark with a gleam in her eyes. Abandoning Lizzie and the Twins, she walked over to him. Twisting her long brunette hair around her index finger, she gave Stark a small flirtatious smile.

"Hey, I'm Beth," she said in a seductive tone, bending her left leg slightly as she moved closer to Stark. He smiled back and Saffron let out a small sigh, which she hoped Stevie Rae – still stood beside her – hadn't heard.

The reason behind Saffron's sigh was that Beth could get any guy she wanted – she just seemed to have that effect on boys. They just fell for her when she wanted them too. It was like she had seductive powers or something, like Heidi Volturi out of the Twilight Saga.

"I'm Stark," the boy introduced himself to Beth, who raised one eyebrow.

"Unusual first name," she commented, but her voice never strayed from her 'sexy' tone. Stark seemed amused at Beth's actions, but interested in Beth all the same.

"It's James Stark, but I dropped the James. Just Stark," he replied, now flirting back. Every so often he would run his fingers through his sandy hair, which attracted Beth more every time. Seeing this, Saffron sighed quietly again, wondering how Zoey – who obviously cared for Stark – would take this behaviour.

Stevie Rae heard the sigh this time and frowned at Saffron.

"What's up?" she asked, sounding slightly concerned. "You really wanna see your sister again, don't ya?" Stevie Rae handed Saffron a reason as to why she sighed, and she took it gratefully.

"Yeah, I do. She and I were so close, and now I know Elizabeth didn't really _die_... well, she did, but she's still alive... well, you get it, right?" Saffron hoped her confusion didn't look odd in front of these vampyres. It would be typical if she had made some slip-up without realizing.

Thankfully, she hadn't. Stevie Rae smiled sadly at Saffron before skipping over to Zoey and muttering something in her ear that Saffron couldn't quite make out. When the Okie girl bounded back over to her, Saffron could see a huge grin on her face, and she hoped it was good news.

"I've asked Zoey to let you and your friends in. She made me promise to take full responsibility of you, though, and you have to stay with me at all times. The Twins will be responsible for your friends – as much as that's not a good idea," she laughed, glancing at Beth, who was practically touching Stark now. "Jeesh, those guys are major flirting. I hope Zoey doesn't get upset," Stevie Rae muttered to Saffron. Now it was her turn to frown.

"Why would Zoey get upset about it?" she asked, grateful she could now finally understand the connection she had sensed between Stark and Zoey. Stevie Rae shrugged.

"Nothin'," she mumbled, realizing she had said something she shouldn't have. Saffron pushed her, though.

"What is it?"

"Well... don't tell Beth this, coz I don't want your friend feeling guilty over it. Zoey and Stark have this... connection." Saffron waited, hoping Stevie Rae would explain the 'connection'. She did. "See, full vampyres can pledge themselves as Warriors to their High Priestess, and Stark pledged himself to Zoey a while back. Then something happened to Zoey – I won't say what, though. Not my place to say – and Stark risked his life to save her. Later on, when they were all safe again – well, as safe as they can be – Stark did something he learnt on the Isle of Women and pledged himself to Z as her _Guardian_, which is something different to a Warrior," Stevie Rae explained, but she didn't go any further. Guessing she was lucky enough to have heard that much, Saffron didn't push for any more information, but she was insanely curious about what had happened to Zoey and how Stark saved her. And what Warriors and Guardians did for their High Priestess.

Turning her attention back to her human friends, Saffron saw Beth stroking Stark's arm gently and let out a third sigh, this one an internal one. Beth would be hurt, as well as Zoey, when she found out about the whole Warrior/Guardian thing.


End file.
